Nearly 100 kids enjoy Safety Fest

Perhaps a funeral home is not the first location you would expect to find a host of children on a Saturday.
That sort of thing changes when you get a group of organizations together in downtown Thomasville with bags of candy, balloon animals and a message to ensure the safety of the children they are entertaining.
An estimated 97 kids came out for Safety Fest 2013 at Thomasville Funeral Home on Oct. 12.
"It was excitement all day long," said Dolly Hulin, fire and life safety director at Thomasville Fire Department. "Which is one reason we keep the event from 11 to 12:30 because we want the kids motivated to learn about safety without being burned out."
Two bicycles were given away and the Pride of Carolina cloggers treated the crowd to a performance. Meanwhile, children gathered around the ladder truck brought by TFD. The primary means of education was an obstacle course.
"Saturday was the debut for Get Fit by Learning Fire Safety debut — an obstacle course to help kids learn to get out of the house safely. We taught them how to get low, get under the smoke, open the window and go to the mailbox, which we consider the ideal meeting point.
The obstacle course will be featured at the Kids Zone on Oct. 27 at the state fair.
"We're going to be able to show our program to a whole lot of people," Hulin said.

Staff Writer Daniel Kennedy can be reached at 888-3575, or at kennedy@tvilletimes.com.